The Elf King (63 page)

T
he ground above the deep catacombs shook in tremors that
uprooted trees and caused deep sinkholes as the pulsating magic of
the
Mrenx Ku
felt
the death of its branch, the piece torn off to be sent ahead of
itself. It hissed vehemently, throbbing so wild that it threatened
to tear itself free from its own roots against the cavern walls. It
felt itself weaken; a part of it had died.

Connected to the circular
cavern like a web, it began sending its rays of magic through the
soil up above the ground, consuming everything it came in contact
with. Everything that had a life, now belonged to it. And it called
others towards it, others that would do its will in place of
the
Takers
.

Slowly a set of eyes
entered the cavern. It wasted no time pouring its will into the
beast, altering its appearance and mind captivity. In seconds it
was over and the new creature fled away.

Chapter 35

T
wo days after the men of Cillitran left their city and began
their march across the Shyl Plains, three burdened travelers found
themselves out of the hills and trees of the Pikes and into a
grassy wash of fields. It had been several hours now since they
left Prevost, and he was still a lingering thought that would not
soon wander away. The midday sun shined bright overhead with no
clouds around to diminish it, no further trees to block its heated
rays. The air was warm, humid. They continued northwest, walking
without stopping, without talking, without mentioning the words
they all felt for leaving their friend behind. It easily could have
been any one of them, if not them all, they thought. The grim
reality left them in sullen moods. Kamen Ode especially. The big
man’s face became a mask of anger, grunting to himself and not
looking at his companions for support for anything. Qenn and
Kandish did not press him. They focused on putting one foot in
front of the other.

They traveled for a long
distance through the wet lands, a slow and painstaking trek that
had them wandering in circles searching for safe passage. The
beating sun did little to stop the swarming insects, which buzzed
around them in small, irritating clouds, constantly trying to feed
off their sweat. Noises of other things living in the swamps grew
the further they traveled. Quick glimpses of reptilian creatures
were spotted once or twice sinking back into the slime-coated
waters, none of them resembling things living in the south. The
three trespassers kept their eyes and ears open for them as well,
uncertain if they would pose a threat.

“
Would be worth it to use
my staff and kill these bugs off for good,” Qenn joked. Their
non-response kept him quiet afterwards.

It was in the last few
hours that Qenn noticed that he was feeling slightly different
about things. Angrier, he thought. Even the smallest of irritations
were hard to ignore. He first thought it was just the lag of the
journey and his hardships. But the more he thought of it, the more
it became unclear. He finally ruled it on the stress and obstacles.
Neither were things he could change.

Or were they?
He stared at his staff and wondered just how
powerful it was.

“
I can’t wait for this
journey to be over with,” he said bitterly to himself.

Kandish spent time watching
Qenn, watching his eyes shift to his staff, watching his narrow
fingers caress it as he walked. And the small comments he made now
all involved him using his new weapon. She thought back to when she
first had met him, when he and Tane had set her free in the wagon.
He was so innocent then, she thought. He didn’t appear to her as
that way now.

“
How are you holding up,
Qenn?”

Qenn shrugged, and then
sighed. “Just tired, I guess.”

Kandish could tell
something was bothering him, but she didn’t want to push the issue.
“You can tell me anything, Qenn.”

Qenn quickly looked over to
her. “Thanks. And you can do the same.”

She kept her gaze on him as
he turned his attention back to his staff. She hoped that he would
come to her with his problem on his own. Sighing inwardly, she
returned to the task at hand—swatting bugs.

The bugs disappeared as
the sun began to sink against the horizon off to their left,
allowing the wetlands a chance to cool and making Kamen find a
suitable place for them to rest. Exhausted, they sat in the dry
grass on a small plateau overlooking the swamps around them.
Kandish admitted that she had emptied out the water canister after
leaving the
LifeWaters
. Qenn and Kamen understood and did not bother with any
retorts. Food would be sparse, they knew. Clean water would be
more-so. But Kamen Ode gave them orders to sit and wait for him to
return with both. Kandish and Qenn thought that maybe he just
needed to be alone for a while, so they let him. As the big man
walked towards the sunset, the other two wished him good
luck.

Kandish sat across from
Qenn. She chewed on a blade of grass. “How do you feel?”

Qenn shrugged. He removed
his boots and rubbed the soreness of his feet. They ached. His
entire body did, for that matter. He wasn’t well-traveled, and the
long journey was starting to take a toll on his body. “Tired,
mostly.”

Kandish looked at his
staff. “Do you feel any different now, with the power of the
LifeWaters
in the
staff?”

Qenn saw that she was not
merely asking to make conversation. Her eyes were waiting to hear
that he was fine. But he was not sure that he was. There was
something wrong. He stared at her sparkling eyes and wondered how
he could tell her. The reassuring smile she sent did little to sway
his direction. Qenn smiled in return. He momentarily forgot the
putridness around him.

“
Honestly, I’m not sure. When I first used it, I felt something
inside me. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t know if I can. But it
wasn’t like grabbing something and feeling it against you. It was
feeling something
inside
me. That worries me a little.”

Kandish held his gaze. “I
know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“
Now I
feel something else. It gets stronger all the time.” He stared at
her, still uncertain of his words. “Sometimes I think I can feel
the
LifeWaters’
power in the staff. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t
know how else to describe it. It’s almost like...it’s trying to
break the staff, trying to get free.”

He paused for a second,
reflecting on his own words. “I don’t know. But I can feel
something.”

Kandish nodded. “I don’t
think that is weird, Qenn. That sounds natural. There is a new
magic in the staff, probably very powerful. I think you would feel
it, in some way.” She stared at him for a second, noticing his
expression did not change. “You’re worried about something else,
too. What is it?”

Qenn sighed. “Something is
happening to me. I don’t know how, but I’m changing, Kandish. It
feels like everything is spinning out of control and there’s
nothing I can do to stop it. The
LifeWaters
warned me that its power
was too much for me, that the staff could not contain it. What if
the power is slowly seeping out? What if that’s what I
feel?”

Kandish’s heart sank. There
was a very real probability that he was right. “I think that right
now we need to trust that the Elves made it strong enough, and that
you can use it before it escapes on its own. If that’s even
possible.”

“
I think that is possible,
and that’s what scares me. “ He paused for a second, looking away
from her concerned face. “Do you feel this way with your own
magic?”

“
Yes.” She said it softly.
“I am scared that it will explode on its own will and I will not be
able to stop it. I fear that I will be consumed by it. And that I
will destroy the ones I love now.”

Qenn stared at her, seeing
the worry in her eyes. She was too beautiful to be scared of
herself, he thought. “What a pair we make,” he joked. “I’m probably
just overreacting anyway.”

“
Well I wasn’t. Qenn,
listen to me. I’ve seen it happen. The magic calls you into it. It
becomes an ally at first, very subtle and soothing, very
controlled. You’re compelled to use it more, and more. Then before
you even realize it, it’s an addiction. You’re relying on the magic
for everything. It absorbs your mind until you’ve lost all ability
to make rational decisions. You’ll feel like you need to be
isolated. And you won’t be able to see just how far you’re
drifting. Then it’s too late. And you’ve lost yourself.”

Qenn was thinking of her
words.
Was that happening?
He could feel the staff pulsating even now.
Soothing, just as she had said. And he did have the urge to use
it.
But it was made so I can use it. And
just because others have lost themselves, doesn’t mean I will. The
staff is very important. It’s necessary.
“I’ll be careful, Kandish.”

“
Qenn, we are in this
together. You need to be open about everything, especially when it
comes to your magic. I was alone with my fears about it. You’re
not, Qenn.”

Kandish reached out and
took hold on his hands, removing them from the staff, squeezing
them in hers. “We can do this, together. Trust me.”

Qenn nodded. He did trust
her. “Thanks for listening.”

She smiled right away. “You
did the same for me.”

Kamen Ode materialized out
of the gloom then, suddenly standing within a few feet from them,
carrying large roots. Qenn instinctively grabbed hold of his staff,
finding comfort with its warm feel. Kamen Ode told them of little
creatures he saw running across the water, small reptiles that
scattered with his approach. Some of them made it safely across,
others were eaten by something swimming under the surface. He
warned them to keep an eye out for everything. The roots were all
he could find, but they would be enough, he said. Plus they would
give them water, when all around them was stagnant pools, foul and
placid. Qenn and Kandish didn’t argue, eating what they could of
the strange root before Kamen told them to sleep for a bit. Within
the hour, both of them were deep asleep with the big man at
watch.

Dawn found the three
travelers working their way through the misty patches of the
swampland. They had been up for a few hours already, navigating the
best they could through the near darkness, the moon giving them
enough light to see sparsely. The same problems they faced on the
previous day plagued them throughout the sun’s course and by dusk
they were cursing the land and all its inhabitants.

As they welcomed the
approach of nightfall, Kamen Ode led them to a small stretch of
land spurted up between two large pools of water. He stopped them
there, looking around to make certain it was a safe area, then
telling them to make camp while he left to search for food and
water. Qenn and Kandish did as they were told, sitting close to
each other, listening to the sounds of the night creatures on hunt.
The moon and stars were coming out now as well, giving them the
sense that what they were doing was small and insignificant. After
a few moments of silence, Kandish asked Qenn about his
magic.

“
How did you get the staff
to work?” she said curiously.

Qenn half-smiled. “I don’t
know. I don’t think I had anything to do with it. It just happened.
When the staff came to life though, I wasn’t scared. There was no
pain, or anything like that.”

“
Do you still feel
different?” She was afraid of his answer, watching him slowly look
away didn’t help matter much either. “Qenn, is what you said last
night still true?”

Qenn saw the worry in her
eyes. “I feel fine,” he lied. “Don’t worry about me. We have a lot
of things more important to be thinking about.”

She wasn’t sure what to
think. “Okay. But if things change, you’ll tell me,
right?”

Qenn nodded. He wanted to
tell her how he thought he felt the staff surge with power, that he
saw it light up once for a second, then fade away, that he was not
sure he had any control over it whatsoever. But he knew doing so
would only increase the worry she already carried. The staff was
his burden, his alone. Talking to Kandish had helped them grow
close, but he knew she could not help him. “Maybe what I had felt
was temporary.”